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Alberta Sheriff Jason Graw mans his radar gun during a check stop on Highway 566 near Balzac on Thursday. Over the September long weekend, local cops blitzed the highways and nabbed hundreds of unsafe drivers, discovered drugs and removed a pair of drivers allegedly impaired by alcohol.

With tougher penalties in effect for impaired drivers, Airdrie cops took to local backroads and highways during a long-weekend traffic safety blitz.

From Friday to Monday, local Mounties and Sheriffs dished out a total of 216 tickets in the region, 158 of which were speeding related, and another two were for lead-footed drivers barreling down the highway at more than 50 kilometres an hour over the speed limit.

One driver was nabbed as he sped up Highway 2 near Balzac, travelling 163 km/hr. Another was caught driving 131 km/hr on Big Hill Springs Road just west of Airdrie.

"It is frightening to think that there are people out there traveling so fast," Alberta Sheriff Jason Graw said. "A collision at such high speeds would almost certainly be fatal."

A total of 10 tickets were handed out for seatbelt infractions, four of which related to children not being buckled in properly.

"We are still seeing people not buckling up, and not properly securing their children in child seats," Graw said. "When you consider that properly wearing an occupant restraint increases your chances of survival in a collision by almost 50 per cent, you really have to wonder what people are thinking."

In one case near Crossfield, a three-month-old baby was being held by his mother, rather than being secured in car seat.

"Would you want to be the parent that survived a collision in which your child was injured or killed?" Graw asked. "I certainly would not."

Other tickets handed out included distracted driving (4), moving or non-moving violations (7), licence and insurance related (14) and a host of others.

The RCMP and Sheriffs had been preparing for this weekend.

On Thursday, they held a check-stop at the Balzac Community Hall where they invited media to witness how an operation runs.

Anyone caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .05 to .08 will have their car impounded and licence revoked for three days.

Penalties to anyone caught driving at .08 and above, and graduated licence drivers with alcohol detected will face tougher penalties, like indefinite impounding of the car and licence suspension.

Appeal processes are in place, however.

Just hours after the check stop, local cops caught a Calgary man driving 187 km/hr on Highway 2 near Crossfield.

In the Airdrie region, other check stops netted four drivers who were between .05 and .08 and two were charged with impaired driving for being over .08.

There were also a number of emergencies on the highways this weekend and one traffic stop that resulted in a significant drug bust.

On Friday, a three-car crunch near Balzac is being blamed on speed and aggressive driving.

Witnesses said traffic was heavy when a 37-year-old Cochrane man driving a three-ton truck was driving aggressively. When traffic slowed, police said he rear-ended a car and caused a chain reaction.

"This collision is an example of how driving aggressively by following too closely and not allowing sufficient space for your vehicle to stop can have serious consequences," Graw said. "In heavy long-weekend traffic, as in this case, it is especially important for drivers to leave a sufficient safety gap between themselves and the vehicle ahead in case traffic slows or emergency maneuvers need to be made."

The Cochrane man was charged with careless driving.

On Saturday, an RCMP officer pulled over a 2012 Chrysler 300 near Crossfield.

Police said a roadside drug investigation resulted in the seizure of 17.5 pounds of marijuana and the arrests of two Fort McMurray residents.

The driver, a 28-year-old man, and his passenger, a 23-year-old man, were arrested and facing charges of drug possession and trafficking.

"This is a significant amount of marijuana that was removed from circulation," Airdrie RCMP Cpl. Troy Switzer said. "As a result, we have taken two alleged drug dealers off the street and have prevented the distribution of these drugs into our community."

Graw added that they were prepared for the busy weekend.

"Traffic volumes on provincial highways have been significant, and with that increased traffic we have detected a number of motorists who have chosen to put their lives and those of others at risk," he said. "From speeders to distracted drivers to those that were caught driving while impaired by alcohol - our officers have witnessed every flavour of bad driving in the book this weekend."

He noted that nabbing long weekend problem drivers is key, because those behaviours often lead to serious or fatal collisions.

"Integrated Traffic Units across the province will continue to deploy as many resources as possible on holiday long weekends in an effort to curb the behaviour that leads to these collisions," he said.